Blazing West was first published by American Comics Group in the Fall of 1948, and was the company's venture into western comic books.

The anthology featured a few regular characters including Injun Jones, whose real name was Bob. He and his father were part of the 1850 gold rush when their wagon train was attacked by outlaws. Bob's father was killed but he managed to escape. Later Bob was found by Indians, who brought him up as one of their own, and he learned to hate white men especially the tattooed man who killed his father. When he rescues a white woman named Vickie his life changes yet again.

Another regular was Buffalo Belle. Her real name was Belle Trent and she was 'a hard riding prairie scout and crack marksman .. with a mind of her own'. Buffalo Belle was also a glamorous redhead and handy with a whip.

Bantam Buckaroo, a teenage boy billed as 'ninety pounds of pure TNT' dealt with the bad guys using his skill with a lariat.

Blazing West is best known for introducing the Hooded Horseman, who made his first appearance in Blazing West issue #14, in December, 1950. The Hooded Horseman, really just a copy of the Lone Ranger, was originally drawn by Ogden Whitney, the writer is assumed to be Richard Hughes. He then appeared in all the remaining Blazing West issues until issue #20 published in November 1951.

After this, due to his popularity, the title was renamed The Hooded Horseman and ran for seven issues until February 1954, at which point it was shelved. Less than a year later in January 1955 ACG dropped their horror title, 'Out of the Night' and relaunched the Hooded Horseman, but continued with Out of the Night's sequence numbering with issue #18, in January 1955. The title folded September the next year with issue #22.

Click on the comic book beneath to turn pages, or use the controls at the top and bottom. Please wait a moment for the pages to load. Click on the sections on the right to navigate through the site.